After all these years, I am so happy The Western Railway Museum is still here and looking great as…read moreever! My son has been an avid fan or trains since birth! I cannot even count how many train museums we have visited. This past visit was for the Spring Wine Trains with my husband. Suggested to us by none other than our son. He now volunteers here!! YAY! We loved being in the parlor car- you get a charcuterie board and 3 tastings. The group was lively, the hosts were great. It was such a nice time and the weather was perfect that day. They explain the various wines (we had Caymus served to us) and you get a nice little tour of the land/area. We got to chat with our son who was the Operations Brakeman that day and what a treat...on the return ride back, we were offered the rear seats. It was the perfect way to end the ride. We took advantage that your ticket includes entrance to the museum, spring fair and the grounds. We walked around, checked out the trains, the fair and the gift shop. Parking is free and plenty of it is available.

I came here for the Holiday Lights train ride and light display…read more The train ride was not worth the money or time. The train had a string of lights strung around inside with a small speaker playing holiday music at the front of the train. There was nothing to look at during the 15-20 minute ride except some cows and a few wind turbines. The train basically went down the tracks 10 mins and then went back to station in the opposite direction. There were also many loud parents and uncontrolled kids on the train which did not make the experience enjoyable. The light display was okay. You got to see some cool old trains with holiday lights on them. But you could not enter any of the trains in the light display area. The lit up trains were simply a route to go see Santa. The Santa area was really dark which was not great for pictures. The staff promote a cafe with hot chocolate and cider after the train ride and light display. I got a spice cider for $6. It was not good. It was full of pulp and the spices were floating on top. It seemed like the staff did not stir up the cider before serving it. The museum and gift shop are really small and catered more towards kids. The gift shop had some adult clothes and souvenirs (magnets, small figures, etc.) but nothing extraordinary. Overall, I would not recommend this place for the Holiday Lights event. There are better holiday train rides and events in Old Town Sacramento.

Really fun visit and tour with our granddaughter. The adults enjoyed it also, but be aware that the…read morenoise level when the factory is running might be a little too much for youngsters without hearing protection. It was amazing to see things in operation, especially the robots and the rainbow of colors. I would go back as an adult alone to be able to read more at the stations and take in the whole process. It would be a lot different experience when the factory is not in production. Staff were friendly. The cost of $8 for adults and $4 for kids is not unreasonable. Make sure you look for the cheaper priced candy by the cafe. Some of the regular priced stuff is pricey - like a $7.95 for a relatively small bag of orange flavored assorted beans. Cafe food was good - kids chicken strips and a delicious Asian chicken salad. Prices were not cheap but ok for the quality of food. The short train ride across the parking lot from the factory to the museum is sufficient for the young and young at heart. Museum is more geared to adults covering the history of the companies and candy production equipment.

Must-do Family Outing! We finally went over spring break earlier this month…read more The art work blew us away, the belly flops made us laugh, the factory tour was eye-opening, and riding the train was a ton of fun! Getting there was easy (45 mins from the east bay), parking was free, entrance was cheap, and timings were flexible as we chose not to handcuff our schedule to the guided factory tour timings. PRO TIP: We paid way more for jelly beans at the gift store on our way out than we should have. There's a factory store near the cafe which will save you a lot of money if you're not too picky about flavor combinations. You can save EVEN MORE MONEY by buying boxes of jelly beans or older flavors from the Jelly Belly museum across the parking lot. Happy to return!

After My Own Art…read more Located on 217 acres of pristine Napa Valley land, the Di Rosa is a contemporary art museum that's been operating publicly since 1997. This museum is the personal collection of Rene & Veronica di Rosa. The Good: *Temporary exhibits rotate approximately every four months. *Complimentary umbrellas (more on that later) *A good portion of the exhibits are outdoors along their gorgeous property. *Shuttle if you don't want to or need assistance walking from building to building. *You really have to like weird shit because this place is full of it. Personally, I love it, but if you're more "serious" art person, then this probably won't be your jam. *Picnic tables on the grounds, as you're encouraged to bring food and drink to enjoy in their outdoor area. *Friendly staff The Meh: *General admission of $25 might be a touch high for an art museum. The Ugly: *Be wary when visiting during inclement weather,as there's a large part of this museum that's outdoors. So you'll probably miss out on some of it, but the free umbrellas (mentioned above) did come in handy. Conclusion: Fun art museum with some really cool pieces and doesn't take itself too seriously.

Great art collection. The car by David best was my favorite - a local. The political exhibits were…read moreinteresting as well. Thought provoking and inspiring conversations. The outdoor gallery seemed so vast and too much to cover in one visit. Appreciated the shuttle ! Everyone that worked there was so knowledgeable and excited about the works. Highly recommend.

Fun and free for the whole family. The OG volunteers are so awesome and knowledgeable. Great…read morestories and wonderful with the kids.

This museum was a lot of fun for our entire family. Literally from grandparents to the youngest…read moregrandchild who is only 4. We had a wonderful time. They have quite a lot of aircrafts displayed that you can actually walk by and read some historical facts and take many great pictures. Then the indoor part actually surprised us. As we expected it to be very small but they had quite a big exhibit. From engine, propeller, history and even an area where children are allowed to sit in a variety of cockpits of aircrafts. The children had so much fun! The volunteers are very helpful and so nice, explaining everything. At the end of our exploration we stopped at the gift shop and picked up some toys which are reasonably priced and they even got to take a pin home.

Drive past it so you know where to go, but park in a "C lot" on la rue. A stroller may be necessary…read moreto get from parking lot to entrance. "A" parking is for faculty and staff until 5pm. 35260 for a hint on the parkmobile app. You'll prob need parking for 1 hour. Cut through the parking lots and building walkways to get to Bohart. Museum (I think "open lab" is a more apt name) is on the ground floor, wander til you locate the door. Entrance is free. Have an idea about what bugs you would like to request to see. They have a small case for live/preserved bugs that you can hold, but if you come without ideas you might find it a little underwhelming with young ones. Ideal for kids who can safely hold a bug or glass jar without dropping or shaking. The staff is kind and knowledgeable. The room is small, you may like a mask on hand. They have a gift shop area and they have bug nets you can borrow.

Bugs are cool! Betcha didn't know that the seventh largest worldwide collection of them in No…read more America is nearby at UC Davis. They also boast the second largest mosquito collection -- shhh, don't tell Bill Gates! This was my second visit, this time with kids on a field trip. The collection is vast -- so extensive that they have installed rolling bookcases to house the specimens. Our 45 minute tour led us through some of the cases and then on to live specimens which included a giant millipede, hissing cockroaches, a scorpion, black widow, tarantula, walking sticks, and a leaf bug. Our group of little bookworms with ants in their pants was enchanted! The museum is open to visitors from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Wise people call first before they go to ensure the museum is available. While there is a small charge for tour led groups, the museum is free for general admission. But don't be a stink bug; put some money in the donation box.

This is a great place to visit and reflect on our military. The displays are good and it reminded…read moreme of my military experience. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Fantastic museum! Every display is so well thought out and constructed. Every time I go to visit,…read morethere is something new. They seem to always update, improve, and change out their exhibits.

I had a really awesome weekend. It was filled with firearms, Indy car races, and this great little…read moreart gallery in the cute, waterfront town of Suisun City. I'm not actually sure if I'd ever been to Suisun before Saturday, so naturally I wanted to explore a little. We followed signs to "Lawler House" and went in to see what it was. Lawler House Gallery had two rooms full of really wonderful art piecs. There were some paintings and photos, but mostly it was the most creative art pieces that captured my attention. A wire cat with a small canary sitting inside was cool, but a row of carved and painted gourds were the most amazing. I searched google when I was home and entertained myself for a while looking at "gourd art". The lady working the gallery was very friendly and informative. The goal of the house is to bring inspiration and education to the community, and she obviously was very passionate about this. She approached us and asked where we were from. She then went on to tell us about the artists (there are 30 of them in the gallery right now). She also said that the current art is part of a series called "Touching Wild, Touching Art". The proceeds of the sales will go to benefit the new Suisun Wildlife Rescue Center (like Lindsay Museum of the East Bay). A fundraising reception will be hosted at this gallery in September. As we left the house we walked through a courtyard with some welded sculptures. All of them were great. Tactile connections and the ability to interact with art is really cool. If youre in the area, this gallery is worth a stop! Or check out their website for more information about the fundraiser.

The Vacaville Museum may not be the smallest museum, but it's sure pretty and a great excuse to…read morevisit the older part of the city. Yes, there is more to Vacaville than the Nut Tree and outlets! The museum is in an old historic house in the older part of Vacaville north of the freeway and downtown. Only street parking is available, but the neighborhood is nice to walk around. Did you know Vacaville was a city before Interstate 80 was built? This small museum tries to keep the history of the city alive. On my visit, the exhibit hall was dedicated to the aviation history of Solano County including some artifacts from Travis AFB and Nut Tree Airport. The exhibit was nice, but small. I guess they rotate exhibits throughout the year since the space is limited. I was a little disappointed as many small town museums often have more exhibits and history. The Vacaville Museum could use more of its space for permanent exhibits on the history of the city. There is a lot of history with the Nut Tree and local stuff I am sure. Admission is free, but buy something or donate to help them out! Virtually everyone associates Vacaville with the Nut Tree, outlets, or just a Starbucks/In-n-Out/Chevron break. But there is some history, and the Vacaville Museum does attempt to keep it alive. It is small and simple, but maybe worth a short visit.

very disappointing. We expected a museum with information about Vacaville but absolutely nothing…read moreexcept a couple of items for sale in the gift shop. The featured display was quilts.....not at all what we expected.

Really amazing place, amazing cars, and truly amazing staff. Don't miss out on this place…read moreseriously. Don't listen to that guy Grigor with the bad review he sounds like a real loser. I will be back to the Cobra Experience forsure!

This is one of the coolest car-related things I've ever done…read more The Cobra Experience (which is a non-profit) periodically has an event called "What's That Third Pedal For?" This event which happens bi-monthly provides an eclectic group of cars with a variety of transmissions to learn on. I had not driven a manual transmission car for at least 9 years (when I had parked a vintage Porsche 911 during a previous job - BOY that had a heavy clutch) and for $30.50 ($15.50 if you're between 15-20), this was an absolute no brainer! The cars provided today were a Nissan Pathfinder Northwest Edition, 2005 Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z51 package, 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 289 HiPo, and a Superformance Shelby Cobra reproduction - not just any reproduction but the one that was used on-screen in Ford Vs. Ferrari(!!!). The course is designed to have participants get the chance to drive each car around a designated area surrounding the museum for 2 laps after receiving an initial ride-along lap with the instructor beforehand and parking in the designated 'pit' area to swap seats. This included multiple stop/starts to practice clutch release, upshifting and downshifting. All the cars appeared to be well-cared for and the instructors were super patient and helpful. My goal for this was to see if I could get through it without stalling. Not only did I manage this goal even with the GT350 and Cobra having no power brakes/power steering and super-heavy clutches, but all 4 instructors gave me high marks. What an absolute treat, and on top of that they gave each participant schwag bags filled to the brim and even a poster! WOW! I highly recommend this event alone as if you are looking to practice stick-shift. It's a fantastic way to do so in a safe, controlled environment as well as potentially drive special cars as a bonus for a very reasonable price. I'll definitely go back to the museum soon for a visit. Thank you to everyone the Cobra Experience, this was AWESOME!

It's a smaller museum but take the time to visit. It's free! There are also student docents around…read moreto tell you more about the exhibits. Located close to the parking structure on the south side of UC Davis campus by the Mondavi performing arts center and the campus visitor center. Great clean bathrooms!

Nowheresville? Just a bunch of fields and cows? Think again, mon frère. As a proud Aggie, I can…read moretell you there's more than meets the eye. For example, feast your eyes on the new-ish Shrem museum, right on the edge of campus. New to Davis? This museum is directly across the street from UCD's visitor and conference center on one side, and the campus concert hall (wine-named Mondavi Center). High-tail it over to the museum and keep your wallet in your pocket -- it's free. It's 30 minutes or so you won't mind giving up. A fun mix of modern art that is always changing, so i won't date my review here. At the very least, it's a beautiful space with some thought-provoking installations every time I'm in town. I believe there's some kind of rule that all the artists have some connection to UC Davis. Davis hates cars, so the adjoining parking lot is about $10, during the week only. Weekends? Cars galore, no charge. Inspiring!